Abaline
by towanda123
Summary: Haymitch had another treasure stolen by the Capitol. She is now in a whole new kind Hunger Games, and must destroy herself to be the victor. HaymitchxOC
1. Chapter 1

KATNISS  
She was so beautiful, that was all any of us could ever think. When she stood at the 74th Reaping in District 12, on stage with Effie Trinket, she was't one of those strange capitol people. She was one of us, transported into the realm of pastel hair and dyed blue skin. Her healthy pale body always stood out next to our grimy skeletal forms, but up there on the wooden stage she glowed in a a radiance we were not used to. It's easy to see why she was wanted. Snow had her taken from her family, I remember the day clearly. She was 19 and thought she had survived the grasp of the Capitol's games, I was only twelve. It was just after the hunger had started to subside in Prim's and my stomach and my first reaping was upon us. Sometimes there'd been stories of young girls - pretty girls - being extracted from their Districts the day before the reaping and ending up living glamorously in the Capitol, forgetting where they came from. But behind it all was a truth more disgusting, they were becoming Snow's whores. Everyone knows it but no one says a thing.

Anyways, I remember when they took her clearly. She was so stunning even with the film of coal dust that smothered everyone in District 12. Pale, with those grey eyes that made her so thoughtful and so mysterious, all framed with what I imagine dark brown caramel to look like. Her hair was so soft, and sometimes during the first days of summer at school, the sun shone through the clouds casting golden hues in it.

There was a public announcement that all the inhabitants of the district were to gather the main square the say before the reaping, and that Abaline Undercroft must attend. Her name bellowed through my mind. Even then in my innocence I knew something was wrong with her fate,

The time came and Prim and I bundled into the square, pushing forward to get a good look, I don't know why I wanted Prim to be there so badly. I liked to look at Abaline, and wanted Prim to see how beautiful she was. We don't get much beauty in the District of coal miners, so I wanted her to treasure it. The square had a podium, on it was a microphone and some officials - the head peacekeeper, the mayor, Haymitch Abernathy made his obligatory appearance, but seemed more collected than usual -or just less drunk- and Effie Trinket. It was the day before the reaping and she was already dressed to the heavens with a bright orange nest of curls perched on her pale head and a luminous dress of the same shade of orange. The gaudy sight hurt my eyes, and as she teetered over in blue heels, it seemed to disgust Haymitch - he has no time for the capitol, choosing to live out his days as a victor in a solitary drunken stupor in the edge of Panem.

Effie tapped the microphone, and cleared her throat. I was beginning to fret. I'd never spoken to this girl, but she traded with my father, used to buy my mothers herbs, and was just so beautiful. "Abaline Undercroft, please stand up and let us all see you!" The affected accent was just annoying, and the thought of Abaline being put up there with all those Capitols made my skin crawl. She walked up, her hair loose and cascading like a waterfall of luxury, her dress looked soft to the touch. But her face was something else, the luscious mouth was straight and her eyes were blank. Looking back now, I see what she was doing. She wouldn't let anyone see she was scared.


	2. Chapter 2

I knew it was going to end badly, but I was not prepared to see her dragged off by peacekeepers. See her face, contorted by her sheer disbelief. When Effie Trinket said she's be moving to the Capitol as a gift to the District, she expected it to be a good thing, something that would make us happy and think the Capitol was giving and loving to its subjects.

But Abaline didn't want to leave though so it wasn't a gift, she didn't want to leave her family and her district. Leave her dignity. Whenever I remembered that day, more details emerged that were once foggy but they always surrounded one big detail. The way she clung to Haymitch Abernathy. And then the way he clung back. He was a recluse, a drunk and a broken man since his games, I don't know what happened in the 50th Hunger Games, but whatever it was it messed him up pretty bad.

He had drunk so much over the years, leaving a weak shell, but he sprang forth with such strength holding her in his arms. His hands were on the side of her face forcing her to look straight into his glazed eyes, and amongst the confusion and the gasps and the chattering I seen what he said. I seen him say he would get her back. That she'd be safe and, that he loved her. Then she was gone. Pealed away by white uniforms, Haymitch knelt on the ground for a stretch of time, gathered his body together as far as the Hob and bought his white spirits to drown his sorrows in.

We seen her the next day, bundled into the Capitol wearing an outfit that achieved in making her look sexy and glamorous, but we could see her eyes. That broken look that was in all of the miners eyes, the one that said they wouldn't escape the fate of the dangerous path that had been chosen for them. The one that said they had no freedom ever again.

She was allowed to come back every year for the reapings in District 12, and we were allowed to see an extract of her at Capitol events, on the arm of president Snow. There was always a few pretty girls there - the blondes of District 1, the honey coloured tanned skin of a girl from District 4, the deep brown eyes and matt black skin of District 11 - but she was the favourite of the Capitol men, and of Snow himself. When she stood on that podium every year, Haymitch was behind her, boring his eyes into her body with some emotion I'd never seen before. If I had to name it, it would be tragic. He knew that whether or not the District 12 tributes died first, he would be allowed into the Capitol for the duration of the Games and therefore allowed to be with Abaline for the duration of the Games, so he was happy about that. But that was it. That was the only bit of Abaline he was allowed.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm now looking at her, not from a distance or anything though. She's in the train with me. She's sitting down in the luxury of the capitol, in a soft black leather arm chair with her smooth legs crossed. She has on a pair of black heels, as high as Effie's and reaches down to them, sighing and looking up, "You don't mind if I do, do you?" I'm taken aback by her soft breathy voice. There is no Capitol tinge. She speaks just like she did. Peeta seems to be more affected by her though, he's blushing at the cleavage we were shown when she leant down to touch the black matt of her shoes. I shake my head, because that's all I can muster. She grins, red lips parting to shower us with the pleasure of having pleased someone so beautiful, and pulls off her shoes.

She stands up straight, a little shorter than me and walks to greet us. She says hello to Peeta first, and he's so flustered by the skin he was flashed before. "You're the baker's boy, aren't you? I was in the same year at school with your oldest brother. How is he?" Peeta answers accordingly, that he's fine and working in the bakery with his Dad. Effie looks so confused behind us, wondering why Abaline is wasting her time talking to the likes of us.

She turns to me, "Katniss Everdeen. I remember you." She's looking straight at me, and I can't hold my surprise. "What?" I ask, "How? We never spoke."

"I knew your mother, and your father." She stops. "They're good people." She smiles, but this time there isn't anything behind it but sincerity, "I never got the chance to say I was sorry for your father's death."

"Thank you." I muster out, it all I can muster though and she senses that. She looks behind at Effie who is still processing that Abaline is on the same level as us. Abaline lets out a small breath, that sounds like a laugh and birdsong mingled in together, and leans in close faking a pretty good Capitol accent, "May the odds be ever in your favour!"

She makes Peeta laugh and I smile at her, the first time I've smiled at another woman before. She turns and confirms my suspicions.

"Effie, where's Haymitch?" There it was, it wasn't a simple inquiry, she wanted his presence. The two women exchanged looks, and I know that they actually know who each other are. That sounds stupid, but it gives me a chance to respect Effie. She looks genuinely sad about Abaline and Haymitch. That they aren't allowed to love each other, and that this stretch of time during the games is the only time they have to show that. Even then, it must be in secret. She can't be seem loving any one. And even though its wrong, the Capitol queen Effie Trinket permits their love.

"He's in his cabin, the same one as last year." The two opposing women smile at each other.

The doors then whoosh open in a fashion I have never seen before and Haymitch walks through. We all look at him, surly and ageing. His dark hair seems to be less straggly, and his stubble less obvious - he made an effort for her. We hear Abaline breathe, and she stares at him the way my father looked at my mother. Haymitch looks at her in the same way. They look so sad as well so separate In front of us

"We won't tell anyone." Peeta says, "We won't tell them you love each other."


	4. Chapter 4

"You'd do that? Both of you?" She asked, desperation tinging her voice. Haymitch stood incredulous beside her, he seemed more reluctant to admit there was something to hide. Its as if even then, on the train with two bewildered kids and a stock character from the Capitol, he'd give his bones to protect her.

"Yes, yes we would." I answered immediately Abaline smiled so wide and Haymitch looked at her in a way that I never thought I'd be envious of. They came together then, locked themselves in an embrace which looked like he'd crush her. It was impenetrable. Not even the Capitol with all its peacekeepers bombarding them with fire bombs could have destroyed the love between them. At that moment I hated the Capitol for tearing what they had away.

Effie sniffled, the thought came that this would be the only sort of sadness the Capitol would see. Emotion. They wouldn't see a starving family on the Seam, they wouldn't see the shredded limbs of men caught in explosions. Effie's shallow appreciation of love broke them back to reality. She looked at us gravely. "This cannot reach the Capitol. Under any circumstances."

I considered the consequences. They'd both most certainly be dead, an accident would be arranged. But before hand, President Snow would ensure that he could not be mocked. He would not be humiliated, and he would teach them both that. I knew of stories of torture, and if Haymitch and Abaline made President Snow look weak in any way, they would suffer. Effie would be in danger as well, I couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

"I cannot thank you enough." Her soft voice was breaking. I could see she was weakened, and although I admired her greatly, it wasn't a quality I respected.

They sat down to dinner with us, and Abaline asked us about how the District was - we spoke of everything, the Hob, the mines, the seam - she made Peta blush regularly and made me speechless. The way she gracefully waltzed through the conversation was amazing to watch, she was so charming but I could see something. It was the same thing that engulfed my mother, and I could see it creeping around the grey of her eyes. The Capitol had damaged her, but she had found a mask to cover it. Although I was enraptured by Abaline, that creeping darkness would make her fragile and, if I was to keep my promise to Prim, fragility was not what would make me a victor.

Haymitch poured over her all the time. He watched every movement like a hawk, the glassy bloodshot eyes still reeling from a hangover were suddenly alert and drinking in every movement. Mind you, Peta was the same.

"All of this-" Effie hesitated, "Erm. Lovely, conversation about your home is quite intriguing, however, we must not forget why you two are here."


End file.
